78 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



[Tortoises. 



that they constantly took away numbers of these 

 animals alive, it seems very probable that they 

 should have distributed them in different parts of 

 the world. If this tortoise does not originally come 

 from these islands, it is a remarkable anomaly ; in- 

 asmuch as nearly all the other land inhabitanU 

 seem to have their birthplace here." 



We may now proceed to the Marsh Tortoises. 

 The marsh tortoises form a very extensive family, 

 and are respectively dispersed within certain laU- 

 tudes, both through the Old and New World, occur- 

 ring in Australia, where hitherto no terrestrial tor- 

 toise has been detected. These animals tenant 

 swamps, lakes, ponds, and small rivers, and swim 

 ■with considerable facility; on land they are more 

 active and alert than the species of the previous 

 family, but they never venture far from the water, 

 which they invariably seek as a refuge from danger. 

 The toes, instead of being buried, are developed ex- 

 ternally, and are movable, but are united to each 

 other by means of intervening webs of greater or 

 less extent. The marsh tortoises are more flattened 

 in their figure than the land tortoises, and are of an 

 oval outline, and with the carapace and plastron less 

 completely solidified. In young animals, indeed, 

 the spaces between the nbs and the component 

 parts of the plastron are separated by a cartilagi- 

 nous medium, which ossifies slowly. The horny 

 plates covering the carapace are thin, and compa- 

 ratively smooth. The neck is long, as is also in 

 many instances the tail. In some genera, as Cistudo, 

 the plastron is attached to the carapace by a carti- 

 laginous union, and is, besides, divided into two 

 movable portions by a transverse hinge, so that 

 the head,'tail, and limbs, when retracted, may be 

 completely shut up. The species so characterized 

 are called box-tortoises. In some, on the contrary, 

 as in Emysaurus, neither the plastron nor carapace 

 is sufficiently developed to admit of the retraction 

 and concealment of the head and limbs ; and in 

 others, though the limbs may be concealed, the 

 head remains constantly exposed. 



In their modes of life these marsh tortoises differ 

 greatly from their terrestrial relatives ; they are car- 

 nivorous in their habits, pursuing fishes, newts, frogs, 

 and insects with eagerness. Some are formidable 

 from their size and ferocity. Many, as the Painted 

 Terrapin (Emys picta),are very beautifully marked. 

 The females deposit their eggs in shallow excava- 

 tions, which they make on the sunny banks of the 

 waters they ordinarily inhabit; the young, when 

 hatched, instinctively make for the stream or pool, 

 but numbers fall a prey to birds, snakes, and small 

 carnivorous mammalia. 



The number of species, according to M. Bibron, 

 amounts to seventy-four; viz., three European, 

 eighteen Asiatic, six African, twenty-three South 

 American, twenty-two North American, two Aus- 

 tralian. To the latter, other species may now be 

 added. 



The marsh tortoises are divided by M. Bibron into 

 two groups ; viz., Cryptodera, in which the long 

 neck, sheathed in loose skin, is capable of being 

 completely withdrawn under the centre of the an- 

 terior margin of the carapace ; and Pieurodera, in 

 which the neck is not properly retractile, so that the 

 head can be concealed only by the neck being folded 

 to one side of the opening of the skull. There are 

 other sbructural differences, into which we need not 

 enter. 



2109. — The Alligator Toktoise 



(Emi/saunis serpentinus). Chelydra serpentina, 

 Schweigger. It is to the section of Cryptodera, that 

 this extraordinary species belongs, which seems to 

 unite in its aspect the forms of the tortoise and 

 crocodile. Its jaws are strong and hooked ; its head 

 large, and covered with small plates ; its neck long, 

 powerful, and capable of being retracted ; its limbs 

 are thick ; and the feet are armed with five robust 

 claws before, four behind ; the tail is long, and 

 surmounted by a scaly crest, and neither tliis nor 

 the limbs are capable of being retracted within the 

 shell ; along the back of the fore-limbs hangs a 

 loose expansion of coarse granulated skin ; two 

 small barbies, or rounded excrescences, are under 

 the chin. The plastron is small, but immovable. 



The aspect of this animal is ferocious, and its 

 chp.racter accords with its aspect ; it is a native of 

 the lakes, rivers, and morasses of Carolina, and 

 when adult attains to very large dimensions, and is 

 much to be dreaded. It swims with great rapidity, 

 and pursues fish with avidity, tearing them in pieces 

 by means of its talons. It also lurks amidst the 

 luxuriant herbage of oozy swamps, or the reedy 

 vegetation about the margin of rivers and lakes, 

 ready to pounce upon aquatic birds, or other animals 

 which come within its reach, and upon which it 

 suddenly darts, catching them with a snap of its 

 formidable mandibles. Mr. Bell records that he 

 has known a stick of half an inch in diameter at 

 once snapped asunder by the jaws of one of this 

 species; and, as we can affirm, it is not safe to 



approach them unguardedly ; they will not only 

 snap at the hands, if brought too near them, 

 but repeat the attack, with every demonstration 

 of malice. The individual which came under 

 our observation was very young, and only two feet 

 six inches in length ; yet, from the strength and 

 fierceness it displayed, we were easily enabled to 

 form an idea of the danger to be apprehended, in 

 the case of a person, in the midst of one of the 

 morasses of Carolina, suddenly coming in contact 

 with an adult of large dimensions lurking in his 

 hiding-place. 



The carapace of this species is of an oblong figure, 

 depressed with three longitudinal ridges above ; the i 

 general colour is brown ; the jaws and head are of 

 an olive tint. It is the only known example of the 

 genus. 



2110.— The Matamata 



{Chclys Matamata) ; Ch. fimbriata, Spix. This 

 singular animal belongs to the section Pieurodera. 



The strange appendages about the head, and the 

 proboscis-like elongation of the nose, render this 

 tortoise very remarkable. The head is depressed ; 

 the eyes small; the limbs strong ; the nails robust ; 

 and the tail short ; the snout is flexible, forming a 

 double tube ; the mouth is extremely wide ; the 

 jaws are defended by thin horny laminae ; along the 

 back of the neck are two rows of fringed cutaneous 

 appendages, anterior to which, on the top of the 

 head on each side, is an ear-like membranous pro- 

 longation ; two fringed membranes hang from the 

 chin, and four others are placed across the throat. 

 The carapace is depressed, with a longitudinal keel 

 down the centre, and a furrow on each side of it. 

 This species, which v^lien adult attains to three feet 

 in length, is a native of South America, and in 

 particular of Cayenne ; but, according to Latreille, 

 is much scarcer there than formerly, owing to the 

 estimation in which its flesh is held as food, an 

 incessant persecution having been maintained 

 against it. It is said, by this same author, to be 

 nocturnal in its habits, and herbivorous. Such, 

 however, is not the case ; it is certainly carnivorous, 

 inhabiting lakes and rivers, where, with its proboscis 

 above the surface, it conceals itself amidst floating 

 aquatic herbage, awaiting the approach of water- 

 fowl, fishes, &c., which it seizes when within reach. 

 It swims rapidly, and darts with great velocity on 

 its prey. This species was first described by 

 Bruguiere, in 1792. (See 'Journal d'Histoiie 

 Naturelle.') 



2111. — The New Holland Chelodina 



(Chelodina Novm HoUandicB). The head and neck 

 of the species of Chelodina remind us rather of a 

 snake than of a tortoise, so narrow, flat, and pointed 

 is the former, and so elongated the latter ; the jaws 

 are slender, the gape wide ; the eyes vertically 

 placed ; the tail very short ; the carapace depressed 

 and oval ; the plastron broad. 



This singular tortoise inhabits the pools and 

 stagnant or sluggish waters of New Holland, and is 

 said to prey upon various aquatic reptiles, as frogs, 

 &c., and fishes, which its long neck enables it to 

 seize, as they approach its lurking-place, amidst 

 aquatic herbage, or in the oozy mud. It is said to 

 be rapid and active in its movements in the water. 



Two allied species are natives of South America. 



We now introduce the Fluviatile or River Tor- 

 toises. From their conformation, the fluviatile tor- 

 toises are exclusively aquatic, coming on shore only 

 in order to deposit their eggs, and this they do 

 stealthily by night, returning immediately to their 

 congenial element. 



The essential characters of these tortoises are thus 

 summed up by MM. Dumeril and Bibron: — "The 

 carapace is a flexible cartilaginous expansion, form- 

 ing the circumference of a centre of bone, by which 

 it is supported ; the surface of this bone, which is 

 nearly flat, is rugose, and marked with inequalities ; 

 the ribs arc free at their ends ; the head is narrow 

 and elongated ; and the nose terminates in a flexible 

 preboscis; the jaws are trenchant, and are furnished 

 externally with folds of skin resembling lips ; the 

 eyes are prominent, placed near each other, and di- 

 rected obliquely upwards. The plastron (Fig. 2093) 

 is abbreviated posteriorly, but advances anteriorly, 

 so as to come under the neck ; it is not perfectly os- 

 seous, especially in the centre, and is united to the 

 carapace by cartilage. The tail is short and thick ; 

 the limbs are robust, with large webbed feet; of 

 the toes, three only on each foot are armed with 

 nails, these are nearly straight, and channelled 

 underneath." 



To this we may add that the neck is long, and 

 capable not only of being retracted and extended 

 with great rapidity, but of performing lateral ser- 

 pentine movements. 



These tortoises are fierce and voracious, and feed 

 upon fishes, reptiles, birds, &c., at which they dart 

 like a pike, from their hiding-place, launching out 

 their long neck and snapping at their prey with 



arrow-like rapidity. Their flesh is- held in estima- 

 tion, and they are taken by means of a hook and 

 line; but so fiercely do they defend themselves, and 

 so severely do they bite, taking out the portion 

 seized with a snap, that the fishermen cut on their 

 heads as soon as possible. Mr. Bell recoids an in- 

 stance of a sailor having his finger snapped oft' by a 

 trionyx (Gymnopus), which was on shipboai-d and 

 ultimatelv placed in the Surrey Zoological Gardens. 



Though these tortoises seldom come on shore, 

 they may often be seen slumbering on trunks of 

 floating trees, or on rocks jutting above the surface 

 of the water ; on the least alarm , however, they plunge 

 and instantaneously disappear. 



No species of this family is European. All those 

 known to naturalists are natives of the large lakes 

 and rivei-s of the warmer regions, the Nile, Niger, 

 and other rivers of Africa; the Euphrates, the 

 Tigris, the Ganges, Sec. ; and in America, the 

 Mississippi and Ohio. They attain to gigantic di- 

 mensions. 



2112. — The Americax Riveb-Tortoise 



(Gymnopus spinifenu). Trionyx ferox, Schweigger ; 

 Testudo ferox, Schoepfer. This ferocious animal is 

 a native of the rivers of Georgia and Florida, and 

 also in the lakes situated both above and below the 

 falls of Niagara ; it is not uncommon in the Wabash, 

 a tributary of the Ohio, just before its junction with 

 the Mississippi. ' 



An aquatic tyrant, this species is a terrible de- 

 stroyer not only of fish, but also of water-fowl, quad- 

 rupeds, and even young alligators, which it attacks 

 with the utmost fury. On account of its flesh it is 

 taken by means of a hook baited with fish, but when 

 drawn on land it struggles desperately, darting its 

 head right and left at its assailants with inconceiv- 

 able velocity. In May the females of this species 

 seek out some sandy spot on the river's bank, for the 

 purpose of depositing their eggs, often crawling up 

 very steep declivities, in order to secure a sunny 

 aspect. The eggs, which are from fifty to sixty in 

 number, are spherical, and very brittle. The young 

 make their appearance in July. 



An allied species (G. muticus) inhabits the same 

 localities. The other species are Asiatic and 

 African. 



From the fluviatile we may now pass to the Ma- 

 rine Tortoises, or Turtles. 



The marine tortoises, or turtles, are at once to be 

 distinguished by the long paddle-like form of the 

 limbs, of which the anterior pair are by far the most 

 developed, and are used as oars, or rather as aquatic 

 wings, by means of which they sail about, plough 

 the waves, descend, or rise with the utmost address. 

 On the land, which is only visited at certain seasons, 

 these animals shuffle along, and with laborious 

 efforts make only a slow progress. When turned 

 over on their back on a flat sandy shore, they are 

 unable, from the depression of the carapace, to 

 recover their natural position. The marine tortoises 

 are found in all the seas of the warm climates, but 

 principally towards the torrid zone in the equinoctial 

 ocean ; on the shores of the Antilles, Cuba, Jamaica, 

 the Caiman Islands, and Hayti ; in the Atlantic 

 Ocean ; at the Cape de Verd and Ascension Islands ; 

 in the Indian Ocean ; at the Isles of France, Mada- 

 gascar, Seychelles, and Rodriguez ; at Vem Cruz, 

 in the Gulf of Mexico ; and at the Sandwich and 

 Galapagos Islands, in the Pacific Ocean. Often 

 are they seen slumbering motionless on a calm 

 sunlit sea, seven or eight hundred leagues from land. 

 They have their favourite breeding-places, to which 

 thousands periodically resort, often travelling thither 

 from immense distances. The eggs of most of the 

 species are excellent, but the albuminous portion, 

 or " white," does acquire firmness by boiling. Of 

 the estimation in which the flesh of the green 

 turtle is held, little need be said : in our island it is 

 a luxury, but it also forms a useful and salutary 

 portion of the stores of vessels engaged in the com- 

 merce of the tropical and southern seas. It is the 

 Hawksbill Turtle (Chelonia imbricata) which fur- 

 nishes the horny plates, covering the carapace, 

 known under the name of tortoiseshell. 



The jaws in all the turtles are robust ; the beak of 

 the upper-jaw is hooked downwards ; the edges are 

 sharp, sometimes serrated, and the lower mandible 

 is received into a groove of the upper. Most feed 

 upon various marine plants, and dive to tear them 

 up from their beds ; some, however, feed upon Crus- 

 tacea, shell-fish, cuttle-fishes, echini, &c., as the 

 hawksbill, loggerhead, aud leathery tortoises. 

 They exhale a musky odour. Audubon says, " The 

 hawksbilled species feeds on sea-weeds, crabs, 

 various kinds of shell-fish, and fishes ; the logger- 

 head mostly on the fish of conch-shells of large 

 size, which by means of its powerful beak it 

 is enabled to crush to pieces, apparently with as 

 much ease as a man cracks a walnut. The trunk 

 (leathery) turtle feeds on molhisca, fish Crustacea, 

 sea urchins (echini), and various marine plants." 



Most, especially the leathery turtle, utter, when 



